6,420 Homes Proposed For North Oakville At Burnhamthorpe And Trafalgar

The golf centre at 340 Burnhamthorpe Rd. E. could become a neighbourhood of roughly 15,000 people. Westerkirk Capital Inc. brought its plan for the 20.2-hectare property, home to the Vic Hadfield Golf and Learning Centre, to Oakville's planning and development council on Sept. 8.

The proposal, called Livable Trafalgar, spreads 27 buildings across 12 development blocks, ranging from three storeys to 30, with 10 of them towers of 18 storeys or higher. It would add 6,420 homes, along with 14,475 square metres of commercial space, a 60,000 square foot grocery store and 7,700 parking spaces. The developer says 35 per cent of the units would be family sized, meaning two and three bedrooms. The site sits in the Trafalgar Urban Core, an area where the town already expects denser building.

"What we see here is a community that is for everyday living, that is mixed use, that has residential, that has commercial, has amenities so you don't have to drive for all of your needs," said Eric Turcotte of Urban Strategies, speaking for the developer.

What councillors asked about

Ward 4 councillor Allan Elgar went straight at the half hectare of public open space in the plan. "So, you're telling me that roughly 15,000 people will not even have enough space to have a ball diamond," he said. Turcotte pointed to an agreement with the developer next door to the east to create more parkland, and to two hectares of private open space planned on the site.

Other councillors pressed on the rest. Ward 7 councillor Scott Xie asked whether existing infrastructure could carry the project, and town staff said the developer's servicing strategy is under technical review. Ward 7 town and regional councillor Nav Nanda asked about affordable housing and was told it was something the developer could take up with staff. Ward 5 councillor Jeff Knoll asked whether the homes would be condos or rentals and was told a mix, with no split decided yet. Ward 1 councillor Sean O'Meara asked where rainwater goes on a site that will be 75 per cent hard surface, and was told green infrastructure is planned.

None of this is close. Turcotte said the developer does not expect to break ground for seven to nine years, and that finishing all five to six phases would take another 15 to 20. When Nanda asked whether the plan would still fit the market by then, Turcotte said the market will probably shift and the plan will need to adjust, but that the proposal answers a part of the market that will still be there.